Phoenix Marathon 2013 - Kristin

Aww, the Phoenix marathon.  I had been looking forward to this one for a while.  After all, without sticking to my training plans for my past few marathons, I had beat my time each consecutive marathon, and since my last (not counting Ironman) was 4:00:15, I was sure to FINALLY be under that 4:00 mark!  And especially coming off of Ironman?  I was sure it was in the bag.

Then I got lazy.

I started getting serious about long runs with the help of my friend Marie (picture below on the left).  This was to be her first marathon, and she was also hoping to come in under 4:00, so I begged her to let me tag along for her long runs.

But my mid week runs were pathetic.  It was so hard to get out of bed, and I was just feeling slow and heavy.  I figured it was due to a busy semester, and the stress of moving.

Come to find out...

I'M PREGNANT!!!

Well come hell or high water, I was going to run this marathon.

 I was so excited to run this.  A marathon in MY town, where I'd run by MY (old) house, and MY highschool, with lots of MY friends.  

 To avoid the super early wake up call, and having to sit on a bus, I had a friend drop Marie and I off at the start.  Sure the race directions said this was not allowed, but we risked it, and it paid off!

We were dropped right at the start just 15 minutes before the gun went off.  Just in time to use the porta potty and take some quick pics.  Perfect.

It started off great!  It was cool, but not cold.  Perfect running weather.

The start of the race is down hill and fast.  I loved it!  

We were maintaining our pace, and I felt great!  

At the half way mark, we were at 1:55, and I felt like I had tons left to give.  But Marie's quads were hurting from the down hill start, and so we split at the half.  

At 19, I was starting to feel the tired feeling I usually feel around 22.  :(

But I was still with the 3:45 pace group, and I felt like I could hold it.

But then at 21 I had the burps that turned into the pukes.  

I stopped and puked, and caught my breath as I watched the 3:45 group move on.

I walked for a while.  Then when the 3:50 group came, I started running again.

Puke, walk, repeat.

I tried so hard to stay with the 4:00 group.  Because then I could just pour it on that last little bit and beat 4:00 right?

No.  They left me in the dust too.

I was just about resigned to walking the rest of the way when my friend Mark (my first boyfriend, ha!) was walking back along the course.  He did the half in 1:30, and had been running people in.  So he started running and talking with me.  I was too embarrassed to tell him I really wanted to walk, so I dug deep and ran the last mile in at a great pace!  I was surprised I could pull it off!

There I am, running in to the finish, after high fiving just about everyone in the crowd.  I was so happy to be finished, and I usually see that as taking more time than just sprinting in to the finish, but my time goal was gone, so I didn't care.  It was fun!

4:08:44

So what's next?

Ironman St. George 70.3

I need to get back on the bike, and pray my wet suit will fit!

No time goals, I just want to finish.

Tri for the Cure

Tri for the Cure!

This was a fun and quick race!!  The only complaint I had was that I was #406 so that meant I didn't start until nearly 9:00 a.m.  I had gotten to the race at 5:30 because I missed packet pick up the day before due to the fact that I was in Colorado for work.  I would have liked to have gotten a couple extra hours of sleep...but oh well!  Also, I wish that I had eaten a bigger breakfast.  I was super hungry by the time the race started.  I didn't bring many snacks since the race was so short, so I was pretty low on energy by the end of the run.  The race went well.  I finished 4th in the Athenas--I had hoped to run a bit faster, but the swim and bike went well.  Overall, it's a fun race.  Things always seem a bit less hectic when it's just ladies racing. :)  Oh, and it was awesome to see the elite athletes at the start of the race--one of the swimmers was insanely fast!

Upcoming races:  SW Valley YMCA race through tri family in April and Marquee Sprint, Espirit de She and Tempe International Tri in May, MedCity Marathon Relay over Memorial Day weekend, Minneapolis Marathon in June, Timberman Tri in July (I hope!!).  

Race Results

Phoenix Marathon and Peoria Tri

Phoenix 1/2 Marathon

Last weekend was a busy race weekend! First, I ran the Phoenix 1/2 marathon on Saturday morning. The course was different this year so we didn't enjoy a three mile decline to start out the race. The course was still quite flat and the weather was perfect. The race organization was a bit of a disaster. The finish was moved, but the race organizers still had runners bussed to their respective starts.

The race traffic was completely backed up getting onto the highway and then off to the exit. As a result, many of us sat on the highway for close to an hour. Then, we took the buses (also somewhat chaotic) to the start. I got off the bus and into the port a potty line...where I waited 25 minutes, which left me two minutes to bring my stuff to gear check and get to the start. I walked up to the starting line area just as the gun went off!!

Kids' 1K

The run was fairly uneventful. It was a bit crowded at the start and about 9 miles in I started catching some of the 10k walkers, which would have been less frustrating had the running lane been wider. Overall, I ended with an alright time, but not the PR I had on the course last year.
The finish area was chaotic--but there were lots of fun activities and vendors just like last year (cotton candy is always a win in my book!).

After my race, the girls ran a 1k on the course. It was a little warm for the kids' race. Lyla got a little warm and didn't really love the run. Elliot had a better time.

Silver Medal!

Sunday morning was Elliot's big race day. We headed up to Peoria for a tri just for her! She did great. This was in the regular order--swim, bike, run. Her swim went well, transition was still a little confusing, the bike felt long, and she had a GREAT run. She ended up 2nd in her age group and she was so excited!! A lot of the older kids had been ahead of her so she didn't think she did that well. It was pretty great watching her collect her silver medal. :)

2nd Place!

Now why don't she write????

Hey all!! It's been a looooooooong time since I've posted here. It's also been awhile since I've really done any training. : / I decided I was going to enjoy the holidays and family time. Well that was a few months ago now. I can't say I haven't done ANY training at all.

Kate and I got our bike crew together for a first ride up Usery Pass about a month ago. Should've listened to the signs. Kate had a minor spill in the parking lot, quickly followed by me doing pretty much the same thing - not getting foot unclipped fast enough to step down. Once we got going everything seemed to be going well, and I was even keeping up with the pack without any trouble. We started cruising along Bush Highway, and I was feeling pretty good to be back on the road, peddling along, chilly wind in the face. After a little bit of a hill, the other three went ahead, and I was getting up to speed and had just settled into my aerobars when BAM! My left side aerobar just dropped out from under me. This caused me to fall to the right, into the gravel shoulder. I could feel the front of my helmet, sunglasses and cheek skid along the ground. When I came to a stop, looking up at the sky, I screamed as loud and as long as I could hoping the rest of the group would hear.

Nothing.

So I screamed just as loud and as long as I could again. Still nothing.

I checked my face fully expecting my hand to be covered in blood. Nope...good sign. I didn't feel like anything was broken. I sat up and looked around, I could see the other three waaaaaaay up ahead on the road, and I tried calling to them again, but they were too far. Dang, I thought I had a pretty strong voice when I was a cheerleader. Oh yeah, that was decades ago....DUH!

By this time at least a couple cars had passed by without one even slowing down. Turds! My elbow was bleeding pretty good to the point where it was dripping onto my leg. I stood up and texted Kate that I wrecked. I also tried calling but to nada. A couple more cars pass by. Doo-doo heads.

Just then my knight in a shiny black Chevy Avalanche is coming towards me. Hooray MCSO to the rescue! I raise my hand to wave him down, and was shocked when he just waved and passed by!!!! OH HELL TO THE NO!!!!!!! I think my look of shock made him realize I actually needed help. So after a U-turn he comes back, administers some first aid and gives me a ride back to the cars. Kate finally got my texts and message and tells me to wait at the car.



Well to make a long story short - turns out that the bolts holding the aerobars onto the handlebars were too short and there was barely any thread holding them on. I'm actually grateful I wrecked where I did because I can only imagine how much damage there would have been had I been going down the other side of Usery Pass easily going well into the 30mph, if not 40mph range. The other big lesson is that this is the second time I've had difficulty riding on the Bush Highway. Oprah talks about listening to the message the Universe sends you - first it starts as a whisper, that gut feeling you have. Then the messages get louder and louder until you finally learn the lesson, or get the message. I got the message.....no more Bush Highway for Enzo.

I still need to get a new helmet and get my sunglasses fixed, but my body is healed (hopefully the road rash on my elbow will leave a cool scar), and Enzo is fixed. I'm definitely ready to get back on the road!!!!!

Another Ragnar Down

Well, last weekend I put another Ragnar in the books. This was my 4th ( 3rd year in a row for Del Sol). This time I was in Van 1 and the legs were a little longer than what I've done in the past.

Overall, the runs went well. I was tired and sore by the end. My hip is still a bit sore--which is a little concerning since I've got the Phoenix 1/2 marathon in the morning.

Each Ragnar is fun, but exhausting and after it's all said and done, I think--why do I do this!! :)